Cats Home

By Oskar Leonard

After spending so much time on their own and living as strays, Shadow and the tribe have started to consider settling down in a home again. Although they’ve been able to forge friendships with Reeve, Maria and Spot, it’s just not the same as when they used to live with old Joseph. Sophia is continuing to grow closer and closer towards becoming an adult cat, and Shadow struggles with whether to keep her close or let her become independent – what would her mother want?

After their triumph over the volatile stray cats who tormented them while they were trying to survive on the streets, the tribe’s thoughts return to where they can live out their lives in peace. One threat might have disappeared, but there is always the chance that they could run into more problems while they’re without a house or an owner.

Still, those aren’t easy to come by and Shadow struggles to handle rising tensions between Reeve, who is accustomed to the wild life, and Ruby, who seems to be missing having a stable home a little bit more than everyone else recently. There may be a potential place for the tribe to rest on the horizon, but the path there won’t be easy and, if the others find a haven before Shadow, will he realise that they actually don’t need him there at all?

Cats Home is the final entry in Oskar Leonard’s trilogy, the Cats Collection. The first book, Cats Alone, was originally published under the name 'K.M. Leonard'. Finishing off the trilogy’s emotional narrative, Cats Home explores the difficulties sometimes experienced when independence and family seem to oppose each other, but also the unwavering love and respect which exist within family units, as shown by Shadow’s tribe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oskar Leonard
• Release date: Sep 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005606107

Oskar Leonard

Oskar Leonard is a trans author, poet and illustrator from the UK, as well as a senior creative writer at TUGZ Magazine. He has written fourteen books: six novels, five poetry collections, two novellas and a short story collection.His short works have been featured in publications such as The Meadowlark Review, The Bibliopunk Lit Zine and Juven. He is studying a BA in English Literature with Creative Writing at Edge Hill University.

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Cats Home

Copyright 2022 Oskar Leonard

This Edition Published By Oskar Leonard at Smashwords, 2022

Cover Art By Leon Whittle

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Books In The Cats Collection

Cats Alone

Cats Wild

Cats Home

Table Of Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Glossary

Afterword

About Oskar Leonard

Other Books By Oskar Leonard

Connect With Oskar Leonard

Dedication

Always for Kassidy, a wonderful friend.

Introduction

After spending so much time on their own and living as strays, Shadow and the tribe have started to consider settling down in a home again. Although they’ve been able to forge friendships with Reeve, Maria and Spot, it’s just not the same as when they used to live with old Joseph. Sophia is continuing to grow closer and closer towards becoming an adult cat, and Shadow struggles with whether to keep her close or let her become independent – what would her mother want?

After their triumph over the volatile stray cats who tormented them while they were trying to survive on the streets, the tribe’s thoughts return to where they can live out their lives in peace. One threat might have disappeared, but there is always the chance that they could run into more problems while they’re without a house or an owner.

Still, those aren’t easy to come by and Shadow struggles to handle rising tensions between Reeve, who is accustomed to the wild life, and Ruby, who seems to be missing having a stable home a little bit more than everyone else recently. There may be a potential place for the tribe to rest on the horizon, but the path there won’t be easy and, if the others find a haven before Shadow, will he realise that they actually don’t need him there at all?

Words in bold throughout the book have been recorded in the glossary at the end with their meanings.

Chapter One

I think the only reason why Ruby comes with me to the animal shelter is to watch the blue-grey queen suffer for as long as she can. Sometimes, the malice within my tribemate worries me. At other times, it is a blessing to have such a loyal and fierce protector, especially when I have to consider Sophia and her safety.

There is also the small issue of not knowing whether the queen will simply flee once we leave her at the shelter. We cannot stay until the workers discover her, otherwise we may be collected as well, and that would fully ruin our plans - whatever they are now. Once, my plan was to wait for Joseph in that old, cramped, dirty house that we all knew as home.

How come that feels like so long ago, now?

The blue-grey queen takes slow, exhausted steps. Her body remains low and close to the concrete ground as we close in on the large shelter building. There is a sunset behind the looming grey structure ahead of us, causing the sky to glow a bold orange colour. I want nothing more than to simply have this exchange rid us of the queen, so that we can finally start planning our next moves.

Ruby refuses to discuss anything in front of the queen and, while I can’t blame her, it does make it difficult to hold conversations when she also refuses to let the queen leave her sight for even a second d. Convincing her to let me or Red take over the watch while she sleeps is a trial.

‘Well. Here we are,’ she says, as we near the large shelter doorway. ‘Finally getting rid of the rubbish.’

‘Ruby,’ I scold, but only half-heartedly. We’ve been through a lot at the paws of this queen, and even seeing our adversary in this constantly worn-down state doesn’t elicit much sympathy from me.

She says nothing in response to Ruby, or me. Instead, she lowers herself fully to the ground and closes her eyes, unmoving except for a slight rising and falling in her chest. In the shadow cast by the shelter, her blue-grey fur seems almost black - almost like mine. In another reality, we might’ve been more similar in other ways, too.

But we’re not. I have to remember that. I have my tribe, and we are a family. I have Sophia, and I have the twins, and I have Baxter. We even have our new friends now in Red, Spot and Maria. No matter what the future holds, I know that my tribe has my back and I have theirs. This queen had a tribe, sure - maybe she still has them - but they caused chaos and deliberate harm to those who did nothing to them. It’s cruel and needless… and it stops now.

By taking the queen off the streets, we can ensure that she won’t be able to hurt anyone else. Her tribe might continue to cause trouble, but we have the power to remove at least one link from the chain. It feels like it’s our duty to do this, although Ruby might see it as revenge. To be fair, Ruby and Sapphire have never been under the care of an animal shelter before, but I have. I know this isn’t a cruel action by itself, although the queen will have less freedom than before.

It’s more than likely that she’ll be able to find a good home, especially if she starts to behave a little calmer after existing within a safer, more comfortable space for a while. Come to think of it, maybe we should all hand ourselves in. I know we’re wild right now, but how long can we last like this?

No. The tribe would be separated, and I can’t allow that. Being away from Sophia for a lifetime would be so painful that I can’t even bear to imagine it, and I’ve grown so fond of my tribe that… I don’t want to leave them, even if I would be able to live with a nice owner for the rest of my life. I don’t want comfort for me - I want comfort for all of us, and I can’t ensure that if the control is in the paws, or hands, of someone else.

On that thought, something strikes me. We probably won’t see this queen again, but there is still so much that we don’t know about her. I can’t even tell you her name, let alone her life’s story. Maybe we don’t have time for an entire history, but it feels wrong to just dump her here without the most basic courtesy. Keeping an eye on Ruby, I reach out with one paw and pat the queen’s shoulder.

‘I just thought I’d ask,’ I say, as she opens her eyes and blinks at me slowly, ‘for your name.’

‘Why does it matter?’ She asks, her voice